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Theme Parks / Amusement Parks / Disney / Walt Disney World / Vacation Homes / → All Tags

Disney's Newest Project? Multi-Million Dollar Homes at the Magic Kingdom

If your dream has always been to grow old with Mickey Mouse and his pals down in Florida, you may just be in luck. Regardless, you better start saving towards that retirement dream ASAP, as it doesn’t come cheap to move in next door to the Magic Kingdom.

Disney’s latest money maker isn’t a theme park and it’s way more than just shilling some new timeshares, as now they’re offering actual housing options just minutes away from the magic. We realize this could be heaven on earth for some, but at the same time understand that it could be hell for others. We’re just giving you the facts, and you can decide for yourself. However, those in the market for a new home might want to take a look at Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort.

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Celeb Travel / Martha's Vineyard / Lady Gaga / Vacation Homes / → All Tags

Lady Gaga Joins the Slew of Celebs Who Love Martha's Vineyard

You can only wear a crystal-encrusted lobster on your head so long before you start craving the real thing, and it looks as though pop star Lady Gaga is out to get it by purchasing a vacation home on the celeb-favorite island of Martha's Vineyard. WWD reported on the possibility late last night, and the fashion industry publication appropriately wondered if this means that the avant garde-loving Gaga is going preppy.

It was previously rumored that Gaga had her eye on a permanent place in the Hamptons, seeing as how she currently rents her $25,000-per-month mansion in Bel Air, California. But like the Obamas, Martha Stewart, and Bill Gates, the further out locale of Martha's Vineyard is just too attractive. It's known as a celeb-safe zone, where Gaga may be able to stretch out by the pool with her paramour, without paparazzi helicopters hovering overhead.

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Obama-Around-The-World / Presidential Travel / Barack Obama / Martha's Vineyard / Massachusetts Travel / Vacation Homes / → All Tags

Everyone And Obama Kicking Back On Martha's Vineyard This Week

We have truly entered the family vacation portion of summer, what with last week's National Parks free day and the anxiety of squeezing in trips before Labor Day. Although President Obama, Michelle, Malia and Sasha have spent their summer traveling around the world and taking in various tourist sites, they have also been working all the while. Thus, it's even time for the first family to call it quits for a bit and head to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts for some deserved rest and relaxation.

They'll even be renting a summer vacation home for the week-long break, but this isn't some cottage with a leaky canoe; it's the 28-acre, $35,000-a-week Blue Heron Farm on the island's southern edge. With the arrival of the Obamas, Martha's Vineyard has become the late summer celebrity vacation hotspot, as it's reported that the likes of Jay-Z, Beyonce, Oprah, Spike Lee, Pele (the Brazilion soccer star) and even the Clintons are also in town.

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Vacation Rentals / Vacation Homes / VRBO / HomeAway / CyberRentals / Summer Vacations / → All Tags

Booking A Vacation Rental: The Top 3 Sites to Search

Let’s quit being technical about it; the summer travel season is upon us. If you haven’t booked your trip yet, you might want to think about a vacation rental. For the same price as a hotel, or sometimes less, you can often score more amenities and space. Unfortunately, you usually have to clean up your own mess—no maid service for us slobs.

If this type of accommodation freedom sounds up your alley, we've compiled a few of the best sites to help you pick out your dream home away from home. Just make sure that you register your rental with HomeAway before you send your payment to the owner. It’s totally free, and you’ll be covered up to $5,000—just in case the place is a little less than what was described.

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Recessionomics / Vacation Homes / → All Tags

Would You Buy A Chilean Vacation Home?

We've been feeling pretty inspired by Jaunted embed Shira Lazar's reports from Chile lately. But are you sold enough to buy in there? Real estate firms are attempting to combat the local slowdown by offering free flights and hotels to new apartment buyers.

Like in the U.S., housing sales in Chile have experienced double-digit losses from last year, and President Michelle Bachelet is working on a national stimulus plan. For realtors in the cities of Santiago and Viña del Mar, that means knocking 20 percent off December prices and adding in some free trips. You don't have to be a resident but you will need a rol unico tributario (individual tax ID for non-citizens) in order to put your deposit on your dream home, which could start at $28,000 USD.

Of course, as we all learned with the American housing crisis, this investment cannot lose because housing always goes up in value... right?

Related Stories:
· Chile realtors offer nighttime anti-crisis discounts [Reuters]
· Social Travel: 24 Hours In Santiago [Jaunted]
· It's Summer Somewhere: Viña del Mar, Chile [Jaunted]

[Photo: Antonio Bracani]

Vacation Homes / → All Tags

Puddle-jumping to your vacation home

The New York Times reports on the latest vacation trend: buying a vacation home hundreds of miles away from your primary residence and then (wait for it!) flying there on the weekends. Thanks to low-cost carriers like Southwest and JetBlue (which commenced their New York to Burlington, Vermont route in 2000 with $29 fares), getting to homes two or three states away is often easier than sitting in traffic for four hours on, say, the Long Island Expressway while heading out to, say, the Hamptons. (You wily Hamptons with your awful traffic! Curses!)

The article makes it seem like everybody is buying a second, not-at-all-nearby vacation home...which makes us feel kind of bad. We don't even have the money to buy our first right-here-right-now home. Sigh.

Related Stories
·   'JetBlue Factor' [NY Times]
·   Escape Homes [Official Site]